This invention relates to a flight deck with a display system, and in particular with an avionic display system implemented in an aircraft.
In modern cockpits, the display of flight information is performed on screens connected to computers, capable of working out complex information from the sensors of the airplane and from the data input by the crew, and of finalizing this information for a display.
The display system of a cockpit thus generally comprises several screens adapted for displaying several different applications.
The pilots then are led to work by means of one or more cursors on different screens, in order to indicate virtual objects on which they wish to interact.
The cursors thus are adapted for being moved over several screens and for addressing various applications, presented in window form also called format.
Each screen can comprise several windows, each window being able to present interactive elements (also called Widgets in English terminology) not all necessarily addressing the same application.
The interaction device available to the pilots generally comprises means for controlling the cursor allowing movement of the cursor within a screen and assignment of a cursor to one of the screens.
These interaction devices also comprise several activation means making it possible to activate a predefined action on a virtual object indicated by the cursor.
The interaction device can consist of a keyboard, and a control ball (trackball in English) or a touch-sensitive pad (touchpad in English) making it possible to move the cursor.
These interaction means, however, generally are physical objects the definition of control or activation functions of which is set at the time of design of the aircraft.
Now, the applications displayed on the screens are very diverse and offer a great flexibility for change in the presentation of information.
This great diversity of applications leads to very diverse needs as regards interaction at the cursor level.
It then is necessary, at the interaction device, to cover all these needs and thus to increase the buttons and the control means in the cockpit, entailing significant mental efforts for the pilots to try to find the specific control button.
Furthermore, when the applications change in time, the interaction device may not be adapted for the new needs demanded by these new applications.
It then is necessary either to add at the outset forward-looking buttons, which then must be cabled and/or programmed when a new function is assigned to them, or to develop a new interaction device and to undertake replacement of the interaction device on all the aircraft.
Finally, in the known flight decks, the interaction device is limited to the activation and the control of cursors of a display system.